These Incredible Kids Rescued Animals That Grown-Ups Couldn't Save

Just ask these two incredible kids: Rafe Spuler and Mia Rabii. In recent days, they saved the lives of more than a dozen baby animals between the two of them - all by doing things that no grown-ups could.

Over the weekend, volunteers from South Charlotte Dog Rescue, in North Carolina, were in a desperate fight to save a group of young puppies and their mother, a stray. The dog had given birth to her litter deep inside an underground drainage ditch, but wandered out to watch from afar when people came to help. Rescuers weren't sure how they'd ever get the puppies out.

Fortunately, 9-year-old Rafe was there. He bravely traversed the dark tunnel until all five puppies were saved.

Rafe's mother Danielle, who was among the volunteers trying to help, says her son shares in the commitment to aiding animals.

"He is a great little guy - very brave," Danielle told The Dodo. "He was definitely excited to get involved and help. He didn't hesitate when he heard there was a rescue that needed to happen. And he was the right size to do the work."

That same weekend in California, 6-year-old Mia Rabii was out with her mom when a family stopped to ask for their help. They'd just found a mother duck searching for her ducklings who, it turns out, had fallen down a drainage pipe. Because the pipe was so narrow, however, none of the adults' arms could fit inside to get them all out.

That's when Mia stepped in. She was able to delicately pull the eight baby ducks to safety and reunite them with their grateful parent.

"I am incredibly proud of my daughter's actions to help the smallest beings," Mia's mom, Skye, wrote online. "Additionally, I am grateful for the family that asked for our help, they tried their best to help the babies, but it required just the right arm size and right attitude to get it done."

Although Rafe and Mia live on opposite sides of the country, they share something refreshingly sweet and honest - a desire to help creatures who are unable help themselves. There are millions of other youngster like them across the world, no doubt, and we can't wait to learn their stories, too.